VanZant had posted a 7-3 record in her MMA career, with her last event being a December loss to Michelle Waterson at the 115-pound class.

The 23-year-old fighter discussed the challenges of cutting down from as heavy as 137 pounds to make weight for her bouts.

“It’s a big cut for me,” VanZant told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour in September (h/t Marc Raimondi of MMA Fighting). “I’m a lot heavier than people realize. I was honestly killing myself for this sport. In my last I want to say two fights or three fights, I’ve passed out in my bathroom. This last one, I passed out and had the doctors almost not cleared me for the fight.”

Although VanZant was forced to pull out of UFC 216 because of what turned out to be a variety of ailments, she appears happy to make the transition to a bigger weight class.